The world seems to be divided into left and right, or so we are told. Socialist, progressives and liberals on one side, and conservatives, fascist and supremacists on the other. A paradigm no one seems to question. The problem is this is a false dichotomy, left-right as a political/philosophical descriptor that has no basis. There is no reason for lumping white supremacists and conservatives together except to advance a narrative.
Conservatives (referring to those in the American/British tradition) are individualist, that is to say they believe in the Lockean perspective of society. Individualism sees the single human life as the basic unit of society, and each person has the obligation to support and protect his own life, and rights that go with this obligation. His obligations multiply when he forms social unions with others. The opposite of individualism is tribalism.
Rousseau, one of the founders of the ideologies that formed socialism, fascism, and communism, was enamored with American Indian tribal life, and described a society based on his idealized view of their existence. To him, the American Indian lived a peaceful life in tune with nature. The truth was, it was a culture of constant warfare. It is this false perspective that gave us communism, fascism and yes, racial supremacy (the last also influenced by the Darwinism and eugenics pushed by early progressives). The common tread of all these reprehensible ideas is tribalism, the belief the group is supreme, and individuals mere reflections or the whole. Cells of the body politic.
It is this that constitutes the real division of society, those who embrace individualism, and those that oppose it. The Neo-Modernists types spouting identity politics are tribalist, pigeonholing people into groups. Socialists are seekers of a tribal society, with each individual expected to bow to the will of the state’s wise tribal elders, men and women who divvy up the states possessions as they see fit. The same can be said of communism, and fascism. White Supremacists fall into this category as well: Seeing loyalty to one’s race, and defining people according to it, is just a another form of tribalism.
It does not matter how you define the group, if you see people according to group identity you are a tribalist. Tribalism is responsible for every genocide ever committed. It is also at the heart of every mass shooting. The man who goes out and seeks the death of many must first see them as others, not people. They are not like him, they are some characterization the perpetrator has developed in his mind. This is true for the white supremacists, the psychotic, the terrorists, and those who see themselves as victims.
The only real division of society that matters is whether someone embraces tribalism or individualism. For the individualist, one who embraces individual rights and obligations, gathering together is an act of mutual support. Nations create the opportunity for cultures to thrive,and people to reach their individual potential. Under individualism, people are judged solely according to the content of their character.
For the tribalist, the group is what defines the man or woman. Inevitably, this opens the door for mass blame, and cries of victimhood. Conflict ensues, and often people die. In contrast to sharing one’s culture being an uniting act, it becomes a betrayal of one’s group/tribe. This kind of insanity has to stop!
Rousseau was a madman, the French Revolution was an act of unbridled gore and a celebration of tribal inspired evil. The false left right divide it inspired is just one of its many catastrophic legacies. As Stephen Pinker is fond of pointing out, the divide is not a line, but a ever moving polar point. The right being whatever the tribal left sees as opposing its views, whatever they may be at that particular moment in time.
The self-defined left has spent lifetimes dividing people against each other; all the while claiming the moral high ground. Their ideas are toxic, their constant fight to divide and control the real issue facing society. Crime we will always have, and poverty as well. We only exasperate the situation when we introduce tribal divisions into the mix. The new push for identity tribes fractures society, especially when you introduce victimology into the mix. Social Justice is a call for soft warfare, and antifa a call for violence, they both practice the same ideology with different tactics.
It is time for conservatives to call things as they are, and hang tribalism around society’s protagonists necks. Box the “alt-right” and the socialist together, for they are the same people. Like Shia and Sunni today, Catholics and Protestants during the Reformation, and other groups whose animosity towards each other serves to cover their common roots, the self-identified left and alt-right practice the same religion.
All conservatives need to stop accepting the left-right divide. Instead, they should join together in opposing tribalism in all its forms. Whether with friends, acquaintances, or calling into talk shows that unwittingly bow to the false left-right narrative, they need to point out the real issue at hand.
It is time to state plainly, I am not left or right, I am an individualist, a man/woman who supports individual rights and realizes they can’t be unharnessed from personal responsibility. That my obligations towards my fellow man are as absolute as my rights, and intimately intertwined with them. I am the enemy of no man, but a eternal foe of the tribal mind.
“The Conservative Mind”
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The Conservative Mind 
Thank you, so true. And the false left-right narrative enables Trump supporters to be demonized by the weaponized ‘far right’ label. In truth we span the political spectrum and most of us are in the middle. But the conservative press, with this excellent exception, follows the false narrative. too – are they clueless or controlled opposition?
All people are true to their values, the problem is for some their only value is looking out for themselves. Others are possessed by a conviction theirs is the only way, all others are evil. Those that seek solace in Natural Law, endowed rights, and obligations (both for themselves and their fellowman) are unfortunately too few or too silent.
If I were to add anything to what was wrote, I would note that the modern globalist/imperialist vision promotes tribalism, both directly and in reaction to it. Especially now that we have a couple of generations never taught to take on responsibility for themselves and expect the same for others. Instead, it is all a social justice blame game that fractures society even further..